SchifferLine 15 July 2012

How many of you approach Friday the 13th with bated breath? Do you know the history as to why it is considered an “unlucky” day?

According to folklorists, there is no written evidence for a “Friday the 13th” superstition before the 19th century. The earliest known documented reference in English occurs in Henry Sutherland Edwards’ 1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini, who died on a Friday 13th. He happened to be frightened about both Fridays and the number 13, and so of course, surrounded by a group of friends passed away on a Friday the 13th, thus the continuation of the superstition”

Several theories have been proposed about the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition. One theory states that it is a modern amalgamation of two older superstitions: that thirteen is an unlucky number and that Friday is an unlucky day.

In numerology, if you follow that, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve hours of the clock, twelve gods of Olympus, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, the 12 successors of Muhammad in Shia Islam, twelve signs of the Zodiac, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness. There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper or a Norse myth that having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners.

Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century’s The Canterbury Tales, and many other professions have regarded Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys or begin new projects.

I hope that this past Friday the 13th proved to be a lucky day for you. Enjoy!!! .*******************************************************************************************************************Vineyards in Malibu? Wine quality and style will surprise you.

It didn’t take me long to plunge into Departures’ slick July-August edition when it arrived in the mailbox — there was the headline: “Malibu Wines Come Into Their Own”. Malibu wines? As one of the communities I service in my real estate profession, I was aware there were boutique vineyards tucked in the canyons and on hilltops overlooking the Pacific Ocean — it was — as reported — an ideal region for growing quality grapes. But what amazed me as I eagerly read through this well-written article is that there is a flourishing cottage wine industry in Malibu of “…about 50 vineyards with close to 200 acres under cultivation in all”. Now, I realize that 200 acres doesn’t pose any threat to Napa Valley, Paso Robles, Sonoma Valley or even Temecula, but what is inspiring to read is that these small vineyards, most of which were created because “they could”, are producing some stunning quality wines — Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Syrah, Chardonnay, San Giovese and more. Most of these properties are tiny — a half acre or an acre at the most, and a good percentage are produced for homemade wine. But there are a growing number of vineyard owners who are turning their fruit into serious wines for commercial sale.

The Malibu wines, on the other hand, are planted with inspiration from homeowners who have the acreage and desire to grow their own grapes and experience ‘what’s it like to be a vineyard owner’. One example is Santa Monica restaurateur, Michael McCarty (proprietor’s of Michael’s) who after getting a notice from LA County to clear brush around his house, came to the conclusion that grapes would be a good solution to his vacant land. With help from friends in the wine business in 1985, he nurtured a crop a number of varieties of wines and four years later released his first wines. After a brush fire, he had to replant and has two acres of Pinot Noir today. Producing really fine wines on these two acres provides McCarty with a lot of satisfaction — “having a vineyard is a day-to-day thing. I’ve got 3,100 vines and it’s as if you were a nursery-school teacher with 3,100 four- and five-year olds constantly demanding attention.” His biggest problem: Coyotes. “They love grapes!”

There are larger vineyards inland — the largest being Saddlerock Ranch, owned by Ronnie Semler, who converted 65 acres of avocados to grapes, and he plans to add another 35 acres. And there is George Rosenthal’s 30 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay off Kanan Road. Rosenthal is one of Malibu’s wine pioneers, starting in 1987. Rosenthal Winery is open to the public and has a tasting room. Check it out…www.rosenthalestatewines.com.

********************************************************************************************************************June wasn’t as gloomy as the weather….volumes are up slightly, activity brisk

It’s here — as always. “June Gloom” continues to hang around, but by mid-day it’s gone. And it even rained last week with humidity approaching 90. Ugly. But it’s Summer now, and we shouldn’t complain. Real estate sales volume for June 2012 was $188 million, which is down 11% over last year, but there were significant number of large sales in June 2011 (one for $35 million in Beverly Hills), which skews the monthly averages. And as I have written so many times, you can’t take a snap shot of just one month and make a prediction or an assessment of where our real estate is going. Sales volumes are slightly ahead of 2011, but still lag significantly behind where we were four years ago.

Median sale prices in the four communities I report on each month — Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Bel-Air, and Brentwood — have experienced some retrenchment in June 2012 when compared to June 2011. Only Beverly Hills has shown a major increase with their median sales price moving from $2,480,000 in 2011 to $3,705,000 in 2012, an increase of 49%. Beverly Hills Post Office was down 45% when comparing June 2012 to last year — with the median sales price at $2,225,000 for June 2011 to $1,825,000 for June 2012.

Bel-Air’s median sale price for June 2012 was $1,255,000 compared to $1,700,000 in 2011, and Brentwood’s June 2012 was $1,990,000 compared to $1,650,000 in June 2011.

One of the key stats that I look at are the number of homes sold in each community for the month — Beverly Hills had 16 homes with 12 selling for over $3,000,000, including one for $10,450,000 and one for $14,750,000,vs. `3 in ’11 with five over $3,000,000 including that one sale for $35,000.. Beverly Hills Post Office had 13 homes closing escrow in June 2012, with two over $3,000,000. There were the same number of sales in June of last year, but there were six sales over $3,000,000 vs. the 2 this year; Bel-Air had 8 closed escrows this year, vs. 18 last year, with four over $3,000,000 — and one selling for $11,125,000 vs. five last year, with another big sale of $11,400. Brentwood had the most active market — with 28 closed escrows with three over $3,000,000, vs. 25 in 2011 and five over $3,000,000. Remember, these stats reflect the homes that closed escrow for the June 2012 — not when they sold, and only those sales that were part of the multiple listing service as there can be a sprinkling or two of private sales. Movement in the marketplace can occur after a home is sold and enters escrow as you know.

Another key factor is to see the average sales price vs. the average listing price. Beverly Hills was at 95.6%; Beverly Hills Post Office was at 94.5%; Bel-Air — 94.2%; and Brentwood at 97.3%.

I am still seeing active Open House attendance. As you have read and as I have reported recently, foreign buyers are moving into the market more aggressively. They are looking for bargains for sure, but they also place a high value on our inherent community assets and overall stable real estate market, even considering declines in the recent years. Just this past week, I met two buyers one from Hong Kong and the other from Saudi Arabia. They both were looking for second homes that they would only use a few months of the year. There was another situation that I ran into this past week, where a property was being sold as a short sale, and the listing agent told me that she was getting emails from all over the world with offers of money being wired for the purchase of this home without the potential buyers even seeing it! It all had to do with perceived value. As we know, there’s a lot of money out there and a fair amount of it is being invested in Westside real estate — and why not? We’re still one of the best investments in the world today.

*********************************************************************************************************************San Diego turned into “boom” town on July 4th

So here I was, all settled in on the terrace of a friend’s house overlooking San Diego Bay which gave us a ring side seat to the upcoming San Diego fireworks show as well the Coronado show.. The sun was setting fast now and darkness would herald in the Official San Diego “Big Bay Boom” for 2012 as well as the always wonderful fireworks show that is part of the day long 4th of July events in Coronado. The San Diego show is always a terrific fireworks extravaganza — the “best in the nation” as they like to refer to San Diego’s July 4 fireworks. And well, for 15 seconds, it was! BOOM! And then another BOOM. And another BOOM! It was the shortest July 4th Fireworks probably in the “history of man” — a major software glitch caused a massive explosion of “ALL” the fireworks at the same time. We all sat stunned — “….OK, that was great. Now what?” There was no more “what” — nothing. Oh, well. It was a great show while it lasted. In the mean time, the Coronado fireworks show went off without a hitch, in fact was probably the most spectacular they have had. Being in Coronado is a full fun day starting with the7:00 am 15K walk-run, 9:00 am rough water swim, the art in the park event from 8 am to 4 pm, the old fashioned parade, then the concert in the Park, and then the fireworks….. and if you want a spot on the beach that day, you need to stake out your spot by 7:00 am when everyone else is putting up their beach chairs and cabanas. Quite the show!

**********************************************************************************************Soy – the good, the bad and the ugly

When I was growing up, soy was something that was pretty much confined to being used in our Chinese take-out or something that hippies and health nuts crowed about… The humble soybean now plays a role in so much of our lives and while it is certainly a wonderful plant.

Soy – the good.

Soybeans are an amazingly versatile crop, providing oil, carbohydrates and protein. The protein content is around 40%, oil approximately 20% and 35% of a soybean is carbohydrate.

Soybeans can grow in a wide range of soil and as they are a legume, can help restore nitrogen levels to nitrogen depleted earth. Some of the many uses of soy include: a food in their own right, meat replacement; as in tofu and the base of many mock meat products, dairy replacement – soy milk and cheese, bio fuel stock for biodiesel, stock feed, candles, soaps, cooking oil, flour.

Soy – the badWhile any well educated vegetarian or vegan will tell you soy contains many health benefits, they will also warn you it is not the be all and end all replacement for meat and dairy. For example, it’s not high in calcium or iron, two critical elements of good health; so these nutrients need to be sourced from other products. Many manufacturers of soy dairy replacements fortify their products with calcium to address this. a lack of something else that was replaced by soy or perhaps how the crop was grown – pesticides for example.

Soy – the uglyProbably one of the most disturbing issues related to the burgeoning soy industry is the destruction of the Amazon forest and deforestation in other countries to make way for the crop. Biodiesel made from soy is also a concern. Around 500 million gallons of biodiesel will be produced from soybeans in the US this year, representing approximately 12.5 million acres of soy production – that’s a lot of land being used to produce what is really a drop in the bucket of US liquid fuel consumption – not even a day’s worth.

*********************************************************************************************************************By the time I left for a week long holiday in Coronado, I was a walking zombie, very much looking forward from getting away from it all. So how did it go you ask…. I ended up working at least 3 -4 hours a day, but when I was moaning to my manager about that, she very correctly put it in perspective for me.. “It is better than the 12 hour days you generally work”..I am hoping to really get away sometime later this year, someplace where it basically will be difficult for me to work…stay tuned for more info!

As I have mentioned previously, I have been and continue to be very busy with some wonderful listings and great buyers, two of which are in the process of making offers on properties (both of them are multiple offers I might add). There are a few listings coming up in both Bel Air Crest and Mountaingate in the next month or so. I also manage properties, and have a little single on Montana in Brentwood that is being vacated at the end of the month, so the activity on leasing a lovely unit for $1,375.00 has been lively.

Please let me know how I might assist you or someone you know with their real estate needs